Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-20
DAILY HERALD.
WAS IT HARLAN?
Another RumOr Regarding
the Compton Murder.
THE DENTIST STILL ALIVE
And the Murdered Man Said to
be Oliver, the Peoria
Visitor.

A rumor was circulated in town yes.
terday establishing theory quite as
sensational as any hitherto published
concerning the Woolsteen case. 1t
reaches the HERALD only through
unauthenticated channels and should
therefore be accepted like the other
stories in vogue cum grano sails. The
in substance is as follows:
1'Doc. Harlan has not been murdered
At all and the real victim is j. H.
Oliver the Peoria friend Of the two
girls" The alleged facts upon which
this statement is based can be ascer-
tanned by a perusal Of the following
QUEER STORY.
When Hattie Woolsteen went riding
with Doc. Harlan on the night of the
murder she was followed by j III Oliver
who had determined to have an ex-
PLANTATION from Harlan of the course
he was pursuing with the girls atfec-
tions. On the road to Compton,
Oliver suddenly made his appearance
and an alteration ensued during
which weapons were drawn and fire
opened by Oliver, who, owing to his
anxiety to avoid hitting Hattie, was
rather nervous, the result being that
the bullet passed o"er Harlan's head
and through thet he buggy-an
incident which has erto been
overlooked by the police. Harlan's
aim was more deadly, and
the result was that Oliver was
soon living bleeding corpse in
the road. To hustle him into
the buggy and then proceed to the
barn was hastily-conceived idea,
and then Harlan carried the muir
dered man within, fired the building,
and, jumping into the buggy, hastily
fed the scene. 70 return to town and
run the risk of detection was some
thing that Harlan had decided not to
do, and he instructed his frightened
accomplice to return without him and
await developments, and he in the
meantime would communicate with
her. The blind devotion which the
girl entertained for him induced her
to act according to his suggestions,
and she returned and acted in
the manner already known,
while he remained in hiding
in the lower country awaiting to see
whether the crime would be detected
or if the victim would be deemed
other than tramp. Had the latter
been the case he intended to return
to town, the affair would blow over
and the guilty ones be left only to
the punishment of their own consci-
ences. But as is already known to
the public tn corpse was exhumed
and by the filings in the teeth rec
ognized as Harlan. But it is stated
as an absolute fact that divers teeth
were filed in exactly the same man
ner as Harlan's and hence the only
wire of Identification is snapped. After
the sensational issue of the case and
the arrest Of Hattie, Harlan, who had
all the time been in communica-
tion with her, through, it is said, her
sister, decided to flee the country and
advised her to give utterance to any
theory at all but the right one that
would throw the detectives off their
guard, and in the meanwhile he would
escape, and when the trial came up
she could confess the truth, as he
would be beyond the reach OF justice.
In her blind devotion for him and
acting on this advice Hattie
made her so-called confession,
stating that she had killed Harlan and
he feeling tolerably safe having dis
guised himself by clean shave and
change of attire determined to make
his escape.
HE VISITS THE CITY.
On Monday afternoon bosom friend
of Harlan's, we'll known sporting
man was surprised by visit in his
sanctum of a clean-shaven, blonde
looking man looking not more than 2S
or 30 years of age whose face seemed
familiar but whose identity he could
not recall.
Don't you know me old man," said
his visitor, for Gods sake keep
quiet, Pm Harlan"
"Why, thought you were dead
burned up in the barn." stammered
forth his astonished host.
"Just sit down, man, and take a
drink to steady your nerves, and I'll
tell you all about it," said the alleged
Harlan, and he then proceeded to
narrate the aforementioned state
ment and appealed to his friend for
assistance and secrecy. His quest
was not in vain, for the man he had
sought was bosom com mpanion and
old-time friend of his, and the next
day the San Pedro train carried in its
smoking car the disguised form of the
missing gambler-dentist and there
the story ends with the exception of a
statement that a coaling-ship sailed
that day for British Columbia and
bore away from the scene of his crime
the principal in the tragedy which has
enthralled the public interest during
the past week